One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Richmond you will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant strawflowers.

Planting Calendar for Strawflowers

Frost tolerance for strawflowers:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Strawflowers do ok in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawflowers in Richmond is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant strawflowers and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your strawflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your strawflowers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond.